The Den
by Paine3
Summary: Paine escaped The Den of Woe before, but the cave has other plans for her return. As she is forced to relive her days as a recorder, can Yuna and Rikku free her before Shuyin breaks her?
1. Prologue

Um… hello. Yeah, it's sort of bad that I have published yet another story when none of my other ones (except maybe one or two, I really don't want to look) are finished… but I wanted to. So I'm going to do it anyway…. Sorry to anyone who reads this and really wants me to update my other fics. Life has been crazy and has finally slowed down so that I can fit in all of the writing I want to get down, including this. I have tried with the others, I just failed.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X-2 and all its contents belong to Square Enix and not to me. There. I said it.

* * *

Rikku shrunk back a bit as the anxiety crept upon her, knotting her stomach in the most uncomfortable way. She resisted the urge to reach for her cousin's hand. Yuna's face was flat and emotionless; not in the least bit afraid. The High Summoner's eyes were fixed upon the back of the silver-haired warrior that stood before the sealed cave.

Paine watched with bated breath as each sphere – her spheres – her _memories_ – began to glow and the wall in front of her began to tremble. Then suddenly the "door" split down the middle and the trio felt soft wisps of air push through the miniscule crack. It opened very slowly – giving Paine time to wonder if she really wanted it to – revealing nothing. Just darkness, so intense it pressed painfully against her eyes. For a moment she said nothing, still holding in that small breath of air, determined to see _something_. She had already been here once before, staring into the eerie den, wondering what could possibly be inside. Now, two years later, she still had no real clue. But she knew that whatever was inside the forsaken cavern was not something one could see with just the eyes.

With that thought she expelled the heavy sigh, hoping that some of her anxiety would leave her body with it, and glanced over her shoulder at her two friends. It was Yuna that reached for Rikku's hand and gently squeezed. The young Al Bhed took one daring step forward, and gave Paine a wavering nod of approval.

"Time to fast my past. Come on." The first step would be the hardest, but Paine exerted all the effort needed to make that step. The second was only slightly easier. As she crossed the threshold it was as though the world outside the cave vanished. There was no light. If she turned around there would not be an exit, just a wall. She was trapped. And Yuna and Rikku were trapped with her.

It took longer than it should have, but as they moved forward their eyes began to adjust and they could see more than just a foot or so in front of them. "Yunie…" Rikku breathed, still following Paine as she carefully moved – each step calculated and thought out. "Pyreflies…."

"What?"

"Look up." Rikku pointed towards the roof, indicating the dancing balls of light that flickered in and out of existence. They were so far above them and their light was so dim it was not strange that they had gone unnoticed. Once again Yuna looked to Paine, who was so lost in her own thoughts that she had not heard anything said.

"Paine—" Yuna began.

"We're almost there…" she whispered back, stopping for only a breath before continuing on. She ran her gloved fingers over the stone wall to her left, remembering the soldier she had seen pushed up against this very same wall and shot point-blank by his comrade. She had been unable to see their faces, and for a moment she had panicked, wondering if one of those men was a member of her own team.

"Almost where?" The words may as well not have been spoken, because they received no recognition from Paine.

The warrior stopped again, looking around the wide open space, her hand still held against the wall. "I tripped," she sighed. "When we first entered: I tripped. I can't even remember why. But it was lucky I did, I suppose. Otherwise I might have ended up just like them. I always wondered why I was the _only _one unaffected. All the other recorders were – gunned down… almost immediately. But no one saw me."

"You were scared…" Yuna commented.

"Terrified. I can't remember ever being so scared, not even during a Sin attack," she nodded. "It's strange: I always considered myself to be so brave. I always wanted to fight and I _hated_ being stuck behind that stupid camera. But I couldn't put it down, and I had never felt like more of a coward."

"You're definitely not a coward, Paine," said Rikku, shaking her head. "I don't know what I would have done."

Paine could not hold in her bitter scoff at Rikku's words. Together she and her cousin had defeated _Sin_. They had gone against everything they knew in order to bring peace to Spira. After the incident Paine had wanted to slaughter the Crusaders and then all of Yevon. They had done this to her. But she never did – no, it was Yuna and Rikku and their friends who put a stop to Yevon's greed. She had run away.

She turned her back on her friends, nodding towards what she knew was a dead end. "The three of them hid over here." She led them towards the small niche. Rikku stepped lightly, trailing behind. Pyreflies always made her a bit nervous…. There were quite a few now – hundreds – and they were hovering lower than before. She heard the soft, almost musical sound they made. There was something about these pyreflies that gave her a particularly bad feeling. Almost sad. No, it was more than simple sadness. It was anguish.

"Something's coming!" she squeaked, whipping around as she followed a trail of particularly quick pyreflies. They descended to their level, collecting in an area just a few yards away. They shimmered with their eerie beauty, but… nothing happened.

Nothing that Rikku could see.

Paine's arm was on her shoulder as she pushed by her, seized by something, eyes wide. She stopped in the midst of the ghostly orbs, putting up her hand. "Guys!" she gasped, watching with horror as her hand passed through the apparition of her friends. Nooj, Baralai and Gippal. Baralai's eyes were just inches from her own. She stood in front of him, but he could not see her. Then he and the other two turned away – Gippal's eyes passing right over her without a second glance – and started away.

The illusion flickered almost like a sphere, and then vanished.

"You okay?" Yuna's boots crunched in the dirt as she came nearer. She had that usual worried tone in her voice.

No. No, Paine was not okay. She was fixated on her hand, turning it over, scrutinizing it like she had never seen it before. Like it was not there, the same as the three men were not there. But then she clenched that same fist in anger. It was one thing to have a memory, as vivid as it was, but it was another thing to really see it. They could have all died, but she had summoned all of her would-be bravery to stop them. She had not come here to watch it all again, but for answers. Starting with, "What was that…?"

"Are they – _unsent_?" Rikku asked no one in particular. It was more a question for herself. She had not seen the apparition, but she saw the uncharacteristic fear flash across Paine's face. This was the past she had probed her friend for so long to discover. She almost wished she never had. "No," she thought aloud. No, Gippal was alive, she would have known if he was dead! "That can't be right!"

"Pyreflies," said Yuna. Paine's eyes were downcast, situated somewhere near her feet. Yuna knew what it was like to search for answers that could not be found, but she had promised herself that she would help her friend. "I've seen this before," she continued. "There are places where pyreflies cling to people's memories and make them eternal."

The warrior nodded, but no light dawned on her face. She heard, but did not understand – did not really believe that that was the truth. "So…" she sighed, forcing the words out in the hopes that her own voice could convince her, "those were the guys' memories from back then… preserved by the pyreflies – _memories._" Just memories. Their memories and her own. Their terror and their fear. And they would play out like a broken sphere inside this cave. They were more than _just_ memories. "Or two year old nightmares!"

It was as if the pyreflies reacted to the pain in her voice. That pain was what they had been waiting for. They came together to form a figure that all of them could see. Tall and handsome with light blond hair and blue eyes that burned like scalding fire through the dark. He laughed, staring down at them – at her – with a look of sick satisfaction. She had come back to see him. He may have missed her before, but she would not escape again. Her sorrow attracted his. He could sense their fear, but that girl's – hers was going to be the easiest and the most fun to exploit. Perhaps he could use her, the same way he had used her pathetic friends.

"Older than that," he said to her, making his presence known. All three looked up.

"Shuyin," Yuna gasped. He looked to her, but his blank face did not flash with the same recognition as when they first met. At this moment he saw her for who she was, but how long would that last?

"You!?" He laughed again. It was going to be almost too easy to break that girl. Her… and perhaps the smallest one as well. There was a lot of pain in her past too, he could sense it.

But hovering just above the surface of the familiar one's emotions was a passion to know the truth. She would not rest until she had her answer, so he guessed he would have to give it to her. Then he could let the fun begin.

"I wanted to rest forever," he explained. "But the pyreflies make me relive that moment… again and again and _again_!"

The pyreflies that made him erupted in a violent dance, and he was gone with a roar of unsuppressed anger. Rikku looked to Yuna, who looked back at her – afraid, confused. Then she felt the raw emotion creeping up her, and saw two ghostly arms reach forward to wrap themselves around her in an almost loving embrace. Instinct made her struggle to get free, but the rush of adrenaline only made things worse. Her vision was clouding, and Yuna and Paine both seemed to just melt away. At first it was only that, but then – then it was inside of her.

Vegnagun. That was what she had been looking for. She was desperate to have it. It was the only way! Bevelle – those monsters – keeping this _thing_ hidden away. Who had made it? Well… it did not matter who it was. They were all going to burn for what they had started. She was going to end this war. She had to save her!

The machina came to life as she played it like an instrument. But no, this had all happened before! She had tried and she had failed _before_! This was not real, was it? Still, she kept playing. Real or not she had to try. Then a voice calling out stopped her and she turned.

_Yuna?_

"Rikku!" Yuna gasped, but it was no use.

"Something's wrong!" Paine called out. "Stay back!"

Something stepped in between Paine and Yuna. Shuyin. He had Rikku. He was showing her his own despair in the hopes of learning hers. They were very similar. Both were desperate to save a woman they held so dear. He watched her memories. She was strong. She would be hard to break, he could already see that. But who was _this _girl, the one he had seen here before, and what made her so wonderfully angry?

Paine drew her sword on him, gritting her teeth.

So determined not to let herself fall…. What a joke.

Yuna looked away from her struggling cousin for just a moment, in time to hear Paine yell and see her clutch at her heart like it was about to be torn from her chest. She almost fell to her knees, still gripping her sword as though it was a lifeline.

"Go away!" Rikku lunged forward, daggers drawn. She swung at Yuna without really seeing her. The summoner was so many things – soldiers, Seymour, Yunalesca, Jecht – everything except her cousin. Yuna was suddenly everything she hated and feared, and even things the pyreflies told her to hate.

"What's going on…?" Yuna gasped. Then she too was blindsided by the rush of sorrow, as those strong arms embraced her and a voice, so much like the man she loved and adored, whispered,

"You will see."

She saw the same thing they all saw. The soldiers advancing on her – her and… Tidus? But she was not going to let them kill him, not again. She would not watch him die again. "Stay back!"

"This is our story, Lenne…" Tidus whispered softly to her. _Lenne?_

Not Tidus. Shuyin.

"Don't make me say this again! I am _not Lenne_!"

He only laughed, because he had them all. Even her.

But she realized too soon what he was about to make her do. Her vision cleared, and somehow she saw through his sadness. She saw Rikku, and her pistols pointing right at her cousin's temple. Rikku's daggers were turned on Paine. She was trembling, but Paine did not waver.

"Stop!" Yuna let out a scream of panic and threw away her weapons, pushing Rikku back and away from Paine. The Al Bhed struggled, but Yuna did not relent. "Rikku?" Rikku screamed, throwing the woman back and holding her daggers out, ready to pounce. She swung, but Yuna dodged and caught hold of her cousin by the wrists. "Rikku! Rikku, it's me!" Yuna yelled. "Look at me!"

The daggers fell from Rikku's hands, and in an instant she had ceased with fighting.

"Y-Yuna…!"

She had also managed to break through. Shuyin did not understand _how_, but they had. They had rejected not only his hate but their own. They had the strongest hearts he had ever encountered here.

But he still had Paine. She was the one he really wanted. Someone he could use like he had used her friends. He saw where she was vulnerable.

"What happened to you, Paine?" he asked. "You're the strongest, you know that. You know you can beat any enemy you come up against… they can't. Not like you." She gripped her sword tighter, trying – _trying _to reject him. But the harder she tried to the more she hated him. His sorrow burrowed deep inside her, girdling her heart. Choking it. Breaking it. "What happened?"

"_Snap out of it_!" The words were so distant. They did not even register.

Paine raised her sword, unable to see or hear anything else but Shuyin as he stood just in front of her, so pompous, smirking with delight.

Then the voice became her voice, echoing in her mind as it filled every space and there was no longer anywhere to run from it: _How did __**I **__become so weak? _

And the sword was gone. Shuyin was gone. The cave was gone. Paine stood in a tent, the bright sun seeping through the minuscule space between the threads of the canvas. A desk, very elaborate and adorned with lavish decorations along with stacks of paperwork, was situated only a foot in front of her. Behind it sat a squat man, dressed in pale orange robes with a round, pleasant face. She knew him as a kind man, except that he always looked at her with such cold eyes.

Still, Paine did not care about his eyes or how kind he was or was not. She was angry with him, and raised her hand, poised to strike.

_So this is where the story begins, right, Paine? _


	2. Chapter 1: The Sphere

Paine slammed her fist down on the table, overturning a miniature of a fayth Kinoc kept on his desk. "Sir—!" she began.

"Paine," the Maester jovially laughed, waving his hand to the guards that started forward to restrain the girl. "Please. You are my daug—"

"No, I'm not! Stop saying that when you know it isn't true!" she hissed. She hated how he loved to pull that "father" crap. She was not his daughter, not even his relative. The young woman was just his ward. "And even if I _was_ your daughter, I am sixteen years old – I can take care of myself, you know I can. You know that I fight better than half these men, maybe even more. You need me for this, Ki—sir. Don't bother trying to 'protect' me by sticking me behind a lens."

"Paine…" Kinoc repeated, folding his stubby fingers in his lap and sighing. "You may not think of me as a father figure, but nevertheless: I raised you. You are my family and this is a dangerous mission I will not risk your life for! The majority of these men you say you can best may, unfortunately, not survive and I will not take that chance with you. I want you to live to see a world without Sin…." He reached underneath his desk and removed three files from a drawer. Paine had bit down on her tongue to keep herself from lashing out again. She was always being reprimanded by the priests in Bevelle for being such a "smart-mouth". There were days when she was younger when one would explode with anger – it was funny now, a bit terrifying then – and one time her own teacher grew so irritated he skipped with all the kind words reserved for a Maester's _daughter_ and called her an "aggravating little wise-ass." She never saw the man again. Still, if the situation warranted it, she could be one of the most respectful, upstanding young women in Bevelle. Unfortunately that was what this particular situation called for right now.

"Be thankful," Kinoc continued, "that I am allowing you to join The Crimson Squad at all." He checked the files to make sure that they were correct and then handed them to Paine, who reluctantly took them and then immediately opened the one on top. "This is your team, I have put—"

"You've put me with the Al Bhed," she sighed, looking straight at the photograph and into the green, swirled eye. He only had one eye as a matter of fact. He looked a little unkempt, with a crooked smile, but he was certainly handsome. He was her age too. "Don't worry, _sir_, I think I understand." She was his little spy now too.

"I have put you with the best," he finished, leaning forward. "A famous Crusader, Nooj—" Nooj? Nooj the Undying…. Paine was going to get to meet one of the most legendary Crusaders. Talk to him, even. Well, that was a plus, but she was still not entirely pleased with her placement. "—and Baralai."

"Baralai!?" Paine almost dropped the files, forgetting her courtesy. "Not that one warrior monk's son, the one you always rant and rave about? Sir, please, don't put me with him."

"You've never even met the boy!"

She did not need to meet him. Paine knew all about him from what Kinoc said. Truth be told she did not even know what he looked like and she did not care. He was just another Yevonite fanatic according to everyone who knew him. All of her excitement over being able to meet a _real_ hero vanished as easily as it had come. An Al Bhed to spy on and a Yevonite to beat over the head with her sphere camera… this was going to be fun.

"It will be just fine, Paine," said Kinoc. "Go on. You need to be issued your camera, don't you? One of you—" he indicated the guards at the entrance to the tent, "—escort her there, please?"

A guard grasped the young woman by the arm, trying to make it look gentle to the Maester's eyes but in reality it was anything but, and dragged her from the tent. She did not make a fuss until they were off through the camp. The Crimson Squad had set up operations at Mushroom Rock Road. This was where they were planning some mission on a grand scale; what they needed the Crimson Squad for. An elite fighting force or so Grand Maester Mika said. Paine had wanted to join the group since she overheard its tentative conception. Sin had killed her mother before she knew her, so of course she wanted It dead. And she had seen too many summoners pass through Bevelle on their glorified pilgrimages… she wanted to do something to help them.

"Let go of me," she sighed, wrenching her arm from the man's grip. "I know where the camera tent is, I helped set it up."

"I was told to escort you, Lady Paine," the guard sneered.

"Oh go shine your stupid helmet, asshole," she muttered, waving him off.

Paine trudged across the dirt path, through the rows of tents until she came upon the one with the sign indicating that Sphere Cameras were to be issued from there. She charged inside, not caring if there was someone else waiting.

"Oh, Lady Paine," said the woman she was meant to speak with. "I was told you would be by. I have yours already calibrated and ready to go – would you like me to give you a quick tutorial?"

"I think I'll skip that, thanks," Paine shrugged, already wrenching the machina from the woman's grasp. She filled out whatever paperwork she had to as quickly as she could before rushing right back out into the open air, her sphere camera strapped over her shoulder and a bag of blank spheres in one hand with the files in the other.

It was so aggravating, being treated like she was some fragile little princess who needed to be protected. Sometimes it made Paine so angry she wanted to strangle someone. _Lady_. She scoffed. She was no Lady and had not even earned the title – it was given to her. Her rebellion against that stupid title may have contributed to her present attitude.

But there were some people who did not treat her like she was special or good in any way. She was the ward of a Maester, but she was the daughter of a disgrace. No one except for the higher ministers in the order and herself knew that fact. Her father had been a warrior monk and her mother was someone special to him. Not special enough for him to stay, of course…. But it was apparently his wish that, were anything to happen to this special woman, that his daughter might be raised by Kinoc, who was – _is_ still – her father's friend. She knew her father was still alive, because she was six years old when he suddenly became a disgrace. She did not know what he did, or his name, just that Paine was suddenly looked at by some people a little differently. She was no longer the daughter of a great monk, she was a bastard.

It was one of those two extremes. She was either a princess or a bastard, nothing in between. No grey area.

She must have been a little distracted with her thoughts as she rounded the corner because she swung her bag of spheres over her shoulder and felt the heavy load collide with a heavy body walking by.

"Ow!" She whipped around, dropping the bag with sudden surprise. "Tysh, dryd rind!" Paine froze. It was the Al Bhed. The one from her team. She had accidentally hit him and knocked him to his knees. He rubbed the sore spot on his head, looking under his arm to stare at her boots. Then his eye traveled up her leather-clad form to linger somewhere around her torso before reaching its final destination at her face. "What'd you hit me for?" he asked.

"I'm…" she knelt down, placing her camera on the ground. "I'm sorry, it was an accident."

"Well, your accident hurt like hell!"

"I said I was sorry."

"I'm just kidding," he laughed, smiling the same smile she had seen in his picture. "But I think I'm going to have a major headache for a while…. That's okay, I've had worse," he gave another, much more bitter chuckle and she wondered if he meant the eye patch he wore.

Paine could have shrugged it off and walked away, but even she would feel bad – she was not heartless or anything. "Here," she sighed, pulling off her right glove and placing her hand against the spot on his head. "Hold still." She only knew basic white magic, since it was pretty clear from the beginning that she was not going to grow up to need it to be a summoner or anything, but it was a handy skill to possess. It took much more concentration than it would have for anyone with an actual talent for it, however, but she got the job done. When it was over she quickly replaced her glove on her hand.

The Al Bhed – Gippal, as the file had indicated – sat back, tenderly feeling his head. "Hey, thanks," he said. Then he stuck out his hand, beaming. "I'm Gippal."

"Paine." She ignored his outstretched hand and stood up, gathering her things. Gippal took her bag and handed it to her.

"You know," he said, obviously fishing for a way to make conversation, "you're pretty good with that magic stuff – I feel great now. Maybe I should call you Dr. Paine or something."

"I'd rather you didn't," Paine fought a small smirk and lost.

"Well, I like it," he said. "Dr. P – yeah, that's better." Paine shouldered the pack of spheres again, watching him with careful red eyes.

"_Come on, Dr. P – it's me, it's Rikku! Snap out of it! We don't want to hurt you!"_

"_Paine! We're your friends!"_

_They can't hurt you. No, let's go on. I have a lot I want to learn about you, Paine._

"So you're a recorder?" he continued.

"Yeah. I guess," Paine shrugged. The Al Bhed looked her up and down again, then said,

"You sure don't look like one."

"I don't know whether that's an insult or a complement."

"More like – an observation, I guess," said Gippal. "Well, I still need to go get my assignment, so I'll see you around."

"Yeah. See you," Paine nodded, watching him go. He seemed nice enough. She had never hated the Al Bhed like most Yevonites did – partly because she had never met one until just now. He seemed like nothing but a normal guy, maybe even someone she could be friends with if she wanted to be. That would certainly upset Kinoc, but she considered that somewhat of a plus.

_I think we can skip ahead a bit, don't you? Take me to that first time… with all of them…._

The teams were shipped out at the end of the day. We would sail all night until we reached Bikanel. It was a good place to train with its secluded location and rough terrain. Paine and the other recorders all sailed on one ship and were given their instructions about recording and reporting what their teams did. The idea of not being able to fight still did not please her, but she was determined to do her best or else Kinoc would have no problem dismissing her to save her from the "danger".

The next morning was when she would meet her team for the first time. She stayed up that night in her tent, wondering what it was going to be like. She had never been to the desert. When morning finally came she was prepared. The training exercises started immediately and the teams were sent out into the desert. The recorders were not told exactly what to expect, they were just dropped off in each location. When each recorder was in place the exercise was to commence.

"Hey, I know you," Gippal winked – or, at least that was what Paine assumed he was trying to do – when he saw her approach. He had his weapon already placed comfortably in his hands. Machina. As an Al Bhed he should know how to use it better than the rest. "Come on, make yourself comfortable."

"Let's just get this over with," Paine joked, propping the recorder up against her shoulder. There were what appeared to be old ruins sticking out of the sand, and a man dressed in Yevon robes huddled in the shade. Paine recognized him from his picture as Baralai, having studied the files the night before. He had a very nice, smooth face, she would be a fool to even try and deny it. In fact, she found him very attractive, as she was sure most girls did, but he did not look like much in a fight.

And then there was Nooj. He looked much older than his file said he was. There was no chance that he was really only nineteen years old. She was convinced he must have lied or that someone had screwed up somewhere because it was just impossible. He sat in the sand, leaning back against the ruins, staring down his crooked nose at the gun in his hand and nothing else. It was really him. A legend in the flesh.

"So what's going on here?" Paine asked Gippal as he climbed atop the ruins and scanned the area.

"They didn't really say…" it was Baralai who answered. He had a serene voice to go with his gentle face. He looked at Paine, but not for very long, before turning away again.

"Some sort of strategy thing. I don't think they expect us to start shooting at each other—look, there's the signal to start!" Gippal pointed into the sky where a flare had just gone up, bright red against the clear blue of the sky. "Now what…?"

None of them had long to wait. Almost immediately after the signal faded out there was a distant yell of excitement.

"Who is that?" Baralai asked, getting to his feet to join Gippal.

"Looks like—whoa, look out! _Incoming_!" He dove from his perch, catching Baralai by the collar and pulling him down. Paine ducked down too, just as the machina bomb landed just on the other side of the ancient building. The force of the blast sent a wave of sand washing over her back.

As the dust cleared the gunshots began. Lying face down in the dirt, Paine took her sphere camera and repositioned it against her shoulder, setting it to record.

Both men had recovered and had taken cover beside each other. "This is rough," Baralai commented, holding his rifle tightly in both hands. He did not sound tense, but Paine saw his calm expression waver.

"Isn't Team 3 getting a little carried away?" Gippal looked over his shoulder, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "I thought this was supposed to be a drill." Another bomb dropped in the distance, kicking up dirt that blurred the recorder's lens. Paine shifted her position a bit, but otherwise felt as safe as anyone else could be as she fiddled a bit with the machina's controls.

Another explosion occurred just behind the pair and Gippal was sent forward, rolling over and quickly scrambling to his feet. His gun had fallen out of his hand but he quickly snatched it up and cocked it, prepared to shoot towards Team 3 if he had to.

Suddenly, and to Paine's frustration, the recorder died on her. She swore, sitting up on her knees and pulling the machina into her lap. "Stupid piece of…" she groaned. Gippal laughed at her, and she shot him the dirtiest glare she could muster. "Too much sand." Paine had to simply turn the camera over and dump out the sand for it to spring back to life.

"You could have asked for help…" Gippal gave her that strange would-be wink again. "Does it work?"

"Yeah," she stood up and set the sphere to record again, recording Gippal as he turned away. Then Baralai stepped into view.

"Hey, aren't you an Al Bhed? Why are you trying out for the Crimson Squad?" he asked Gippal.

"Hey, the Al Bhed want to protect Spira too," he shrugged. Paine looked from one to the other as they talked. Gippal swaggered a bit as he took a few steps, trying to hide the bitterness in his voice as he continued, "I wanted to be a Crusader but apparently we're – uh – 'not eligible'." Paine could hear the quotation marks he would have used if he were not examining his rifle. "Besides, no one can handle one of these things like an Al Bhed can."

"Machina…" Baralai muttered, weighing his own in his hands. "Even if the Maester's okay with it, what about everyone else?"

"Shut up," Nooj barked from his unchanged position. Paine had almost forgotten he was there. He nodded to the camera as it panned towards him. "We'll get reported," he snapped at Baralai. There was an authority in his voice that all three could hear quite well. Gippal looked from one man to the other and then to Paine, making a silent gesture for her to turn off the camera.

"What?" she sighed, putting it down.

Gippal stepped closer to her, lowering his voice to a whisper, "Speaking of that: someone told me _you're_ the daughter of one of the Maesters. That true?"

Paine scoffed. "Who told you that?"

"Doesn't matter. I just want to know."

"He's my guardian," she rolled her eyes. "And if you think I'm going to betray what you do or don't say… don't worry about it. Trust me, Gippal. Why would I say anything?"

"I was just checking…" he mumbled. "But thanks the trust thing. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Can I go back to work now?"

The Al Bhed laughed and stepped out of her way as she tried for a third time to capture the footage required of her. Nooj had gotten to his feet and was limping across the sand, with Baralai trailing after him. "My name's Baralai, I'm from Bevelle. You?" he inquired. Paine did not wonder why someone like Baralai had never heard of a legendary Crusader. It made the girl wonder why the man even wanted to join the squad.

Gippal brushed past the young woman, accidentally bumping the recorder. "I've seen this a hundred times," he drawled in her ear. "Yep, a lot of people'd sooner shoot an Al Bhed then tell 'em their name." He raised his gun and pretended to fire.

"It's Nooj."

"_The _Nooj?" Paine was impressed: Baralai had at least _heard _of Nooj.

"Hey – uh – Nooj? My name is Gippal." Gippal joined in. Baralai turned around, staring straight at Paine.

"And you?" he asked.

This was definitely not the sort of stuff the instructors had in mind for Paine to record. She turned it off for what she hoped would be the _last _time that day and slung it over her shoulder.

"Paine," she sighed. "Nice to meet you."

"Paine?" Baralai repeated, and she bit her lip, hearing it coming: "_Lady _Paine?"

"Call me that one more time and I swear the next time you say anything it will be two octaves too high," she snapped. "Got it?"

"Uh – sure… okay. But that – that is who you are, isn't it?"

"What were you expecting?" Surely anything but her, she guessed. "I guess you and I have something in common then, don't we?"

"My father's just a monk," Baralai insisted.

"So is mine," Paine pointed out.

"Is that _it_?" Gippal suddenly yelled towards Team 3. "Is that all you got!?"

"The must be out of ammo…" Nooj commented.

"Bnaddo creddo cdnydakecdc, ynah'd drao…?" Gippal chuckled to himself.

"Perhaps we should… show them how it's done?" Baralai tentatively suggested to the other two.

"Oh I think we definitely should," said Gippal, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet again. Baralai spotted a spare machina rifle that had fallen during the explosion, reached down to pick it up and held it out to Paine. "You coming too, Dr. P?" the Al Bhed called, catching the Yevonite's gesture.

Paine smirked. "What if we get reported?" she asked Nooj. He glowered out of the corner of his eye. There was a lot going on behind those eyes, and Paine was absolutely fascinated by the secrets they held.

"She has a job to do," he said at last. He said it as though he _doubted _her. Why? And why did she care so much what he thought? "Come on, if you want to make a real impression on everyone."

_Yes, perfect. That's what I like to see, Paine: your frustration. But this was all so tame – you're toying with them. Don't let them win. You can do better… but this was certainly a promising start. _


	3. Chapter 1: The Den

A/N: Some chapters will be, at most, two parts. Chapter 1 is one of those two-part chapters. Just making sure I made that clear.

* * *

Yuna could not stop Paine as easily as she could Rikku. The warrior swung, throwing all of her strength into her blade. All her friends could do was dive out of the way in time. Rikku snatched up her daggers, spinning them instinctively on her fingers as she dodged another fierce attack.

"Paine!" she gasped. "Don't—ahh!" Paine groped almost blindly for her with one gloved hand, taking her by the arm and throwing her back against the nearest wall.

"I don't think it's going to work, Rikku!" Yuna finally managed to find her pistols in the dark. So many pyreflies surrounded Paine that there were hardly any to use for light. Yuna heard the chamber's hollow rattle – the clip was empty. While Rikku did her best to hold Paine off, using her daggers to block the powerful sword wielded by her best friend, Yuna fumbled in her pack for her magazines.

"Yunie!"

"I'm trying, Rikku! _There_," she snapped each clip in place and raised her arms.

"Yuna, do something!" Rikku screamed as she began to buckle under the sheer, unbridled force Paine exerted. She gazed up into two empty crimson eyes. Paine was lost in her own head. This was her strength, her speed, but it was not her mind in control of it all. It was Shuyin. But Yuna had broken free so easily, and had been able to free Rikku. But what about Paine!? Why could they not save Paine?

"Come on, Dr. P – it's me, it's Rikku! Snap out of it! We don't want to hurt you!"

He was putting her through the same torture he had put Rikku through: reliving her past, seeing what drove her to be here. Perhaps it was having someone from her memories standing right in front of her eyes, real and present – having Yuna – that made things click back into place. Paine did not have that. Her past was such a mystery to Rikku that she could not possibly be that person for Paine.

But one word seemed to break through to the warrior, because she recoiled. It was only for a moment, but it gave Rikku time to duck out of the way before the next mindless swing which barely missed.

"Paine!" Yuna cried, her fingers trembling as they hovered before the triggers. "We're your friends!" She could not fire. She could shoot fiends, but she could not shoot her friend, not even if it saved her. And if she did fire – if Paine, however unconsciously saw her fire – it would only make things worse. But what choice did she have?

The gun went off with a loud _bang _that echoed throughout the cave. Rikku fell back onto the ground, and Paine froze. The bullet missed by a hair, embedding itself in the rock just beside the warrior's shoulder.

"P-Paine…?"

It was the first time either of them had ever heard Paine scream. She fell to the ground beside Rikku, still clutching her sword.

The scene inside her head, whatever it was, was changing.

Yuna saw her chance. While Paine thrashed on the floor, struggling by herself, Yuan took hold of her sphere grid. Rikku scrambled to her feet and saw what Yuna was doing. The light was blinding in such impenetrable darkness, but when it dimmed her cousin stood holding Caladbolg behind her back. She intended to overpower Paine, blade to blade. Turning the sword so that she could strike with the blunt face, Yuna charged.

Sparks flew as the weapons clashed. Paine caught the blade against hers, holding it up with both hands. But The Dark Knight imbued Yuna with strength Paine could not match, and her arms began to tremble under the weight.


End file.
